Apparel and footwear maker New Balance is building its first new factory in two decades in Methuen. The new 80,000 square foot facility will create at least 60 new jobs focused on advanced manufacturing techniques and research and development. According to The Boston Globe, the new factory will not be fully built out when it opens sometime this spring, leaving room for the company to grow into the space experiment while experimenting new technologies like sole injection molding, hot melt bonding technology and 3D manufacturing. The Salem News reported that permitting for the new project was completed in 2019.

By: Jon Chesto

The P&G-owned company has committed to making at least 100,000 shields at the South Boston plant and donate them to health care organizations across the state as needed.

By: Stratton Lloyd

Conventional wisdom on manufacturing tells us that it is a declining industry with few pathways to lifelong, lucrative careers for young people making decisions about their futures. It’s time to seriously question that way of thinking.

Yes. The data tells us that manufacturing jobs have been on rapid decline since the 1980s. But according to the Department of Unemployment Assistance/Bureau of Labor Statistics, that decline is starting to slow and, in fact, in northeast Massachusetts, manufacturing jobs grew by 1% from 2016 to 2018. It also continues to be the second-largest industry employer in the northeast region (in Essex County alone, 41,361 people work in manufacturing) and paid the highest total wages in 2018: $1.4 billion.